Come join us as we celebrate the Cardew Choir’s 14th Anniversary on May Day (Friday, May 1, 2015), 8:00 p.m. PDT, at Berkeley Arts, 2133 University Avenue (between Shattuck and Oxford), Berkeley, California! This performance follows a very successful Cardew Choir performance at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center, Schroeder Hall, along with the Sonoma State Percussion and Improvisation Ensemble, on Earth Day.

As far as I know, the Cardew Choir is the only “new music” vocal ensemble that performs work that crosses boundaries between what might normally be called “music,” “sounds,” or “sound art,” “text,” and “performance,” using improvisational elements in composed pieces. Occasionally, in addition to singing and creating vocal sounds, some members of the choir perform on musical instruments, objects, computers, and use other hand-held digital devices, incorporating elements of movement, text, video, visual art, and theatre in specific performances.

Many of the pieces we have performed in the past 14 years have been composed by members of the choir, or mentors and composers with whom we have worked, such as Pauline Oliveros. The choir is named after Cornelius Cardew, a 20th Century British composer who was also known for his political affiliations, and who died just as he was returning to composing music after a hiatus, as a result of a tragic car accident in London. The choir has performed several of Cardew’s major works over the years.

Berkeley Arts is within a few short blocks from the Downtown Berkeley BART station. Evening parking is usually available in the adjacent Ace Hardware lot (park at your own risk).

Tickets: $10.00-15.00 at the door. The venue is wheelchair accessible.

The Cardew Choir will be preceded by the Che Guevara Memorial Marching Accordion Band, a mysterious organization that will lead in to the vocal ensemble’s program of 20th and 21st Century musical pieces, some of which were composed by members of the Cardew Choir.

(More names may be added to this list, as we anticipate additional members of the choir and musician friends will be joining us for the Anniversary celebration.)

There will be two more upcoming performances by the Cardew Choir in the next two months. I’ll write updated posts about them, but you may want to put the following dates and locations on your calendar:

- Chapel of the Chimes is the location of the annual Garden of Memory on the Summer Solstice, June 21, 2015.The Cardew Choir will perform an audience favorite, Heart Chant, by Pauline Oliveros; members of the audience are invited to join us singing in a large circle. Location: 4499 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, California — parking can be challenging on Piedmont; often you can find a place on Howe Street, and enter the building on the back upper level, near the chamber where the choir is performing. (You’ll get a map of the building at the ticket table.) I’ll be posting more about all of these performances soon. Meanwhile, to get an idea of the very special Garden of Memory event, I suggest reading last year’s post.

- The Cardew Choir has been invited to perform at the Richard Waters New Music Festival in Berkeley, on June 27, 2015, time to be confirmed. We’ll perform a 30 minute set that includes: Waterfall, followed by Environmental Dialogue, by Pauline Oliveros; vocal pieces layered with shakuhachi and contrabass recorder. The program may be subject to changes or additions, to be announced. Location:Berkeley Arts, 2133 University Avenue, Berkeley, California, a few short blocks from Downtown Berkeley BART; evening parking is usually available in the adjacent Ace Hardware lot (park at your own risk).

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Cathryn Hrudicka, Innovation Program Designer and Consultant; Executive Coach and Leadership Trainer; Transition, Resilience and Creativity Coach with a background in arts education and arts therapy.

>>EMAIL ME to set up a phone or Skype appointment, or for more information. I look forward to discussing how I can work with you as a creativity and innovation coach to help you achieve extraordinary results. I also enjoy collaborating with other artists (of different genres) on projects.

Trained by the Center for Executive Coaching, which is approved by the International Coach Federation (ICF) ...and through my experiences as a working multidisciplinary artist.

Books:

AN ESSENTIAL RESOURCE—THE BEST-SELLING BOOK: A Guide to Open Innovation and Crowd Sourcing: Advice from Leading Experts, edited by Paul Sloane, with a foreword by Henry Chesbrough. (Publisher: Kogan Page, 2011.) Cathryn Hrudicka is honored to be a Contributing Author, along with a distinguished group of innovation thought leaders. *** CLICK TO ORDER it on AMAZON ***

The Age of Conversation 3: It's Time to Get Busy, published in April, 2010. Cathryn Hrudicka is a Contributing Author.